WALL OF VOODOO (309)

Dark Continent / Call of the West (2-for-1) RVCD-309

Raven presents two original, innovative WALL OF VOODOO albums on one CD for the first time: Dark Continent (I.R.S., 1981) and Call of the West (I.R.S., 1982). Wall of Voodoo emerged from the late 1970s Los Angeles punk/alternative scene with a unique blend of machine-age junk music and off-kilter pop-rock. Like Devo, Wall of Voodoo’s sound was always challenging and entertaining, or as once described, “classy Halloween music, scary but pleasantly so”. The debut Dark Continent was brilliantly executed with a blend of hyperactive rhythm box beats, Western and film noir-influenced guitar, colourful washes of synthesizer and lead singer Stan Ridgway’s distinctive vocals and highly stylised cinematic narratives.

Tracks like ‘Back in Flesh’ and ‘Full of Tension’ dealt with tense relationships in a suitably dark manner. Allmusic Guide: “If originality and artistic vision are any measure of a rock album’s worth, Dark Continent delivers on both counts”. Call of the West is livelier and even more articulate, yielding the now-classic alternative hit ‘Mexican Radio’. ‘Lost Weekend’ and ‘Factory’ examined the quiet tragedy of suburban existence. There’s intelligence at work and a bite to the music that continues to mark Call of the West as a successful and altogether satisfying work. Ridgway left the band in 1983 for a prominent solo career and the band continued for another five years. With superb quality audio, detailed liner notes, colour booklet.

TRACK LISTINGDark Continent (1981)1. RED LIGHT 2. TWO MINUTES TILL LUNCH 3. ANIMAL DAY 4. FULL OF TENSION 5. ME AND MY DAD 6. BACK IN FLESH 7. TSETSE FLY 8. CALL BOX (1-2-3) 9. THIS WAY OUT 10. GOOD TIMES 11. CRACK THE BELL Call of the West (1982)12. TOMORROW 13. LOST WEEKEND 14. FACTORY 15. LOOK AT THEIR WAY 16. HANDS OF LOVE 17. MEXICAN RADIO 18. SPY WORLD 19. THEY DON’T WANT ME 20. ON INTERSTATE 15 21. CALL OF THE WEST